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Nicole Hostettler, Head of Office, Office of Economy and Labour, informs about the implementation of the mass immigration initiative and the obligation to report job vacancies as of 2018.

Swiss Federal Council adopts resolution on job reporting obligation

The Swiss Federal Council adopted the resolution about the obligation to report job vacancies on December 8th 2017. The Council agreed on following cornerstones:

A multi-tiered implementation

July 1st 2018: Threshold of 8% (occupational groups, where the unemployment rate meets or exceeds this threshold, are obligated to report their job vacancies in accordance with the Swiss Aliens Act „Art. 21a Ausländergesetz, AuG“; reportable job openings must be reported to the public employment centre „öffentliche Arbeitsvermittlung, öAV“).

January 1st 2020: Threshold of 5% (reportable job vacancies, meaning all to be filled job openings in occupational groups, where the unemployment rate meets or exceeds this threshold, must be reported to the employment centre öAV).

The employment centre (öAV) must inform the notifying employer within 3 business days whether suitable job candidates are registered with the centre.

The reportable job vacancies are subject to a publication ban of 5 business days, starting on the business day after receiving the confirmation from the employment centre (öAV). This way, job seekers who are registered at the centre will gain an information advantage.

In addition to the legal exemption (no reporting obligation, if a job opening is filled through a job seeker, who is registered at the employment centre (öAV) – “Artikel 21a Absatz 5 AuG”), three additional exemptions are provided in the ordinance. Open positions must not be reported, if:

The job opening within a company, a company division, or a corporation is filled by someone, who has been employed for at least 6 months; also applicable to apprentices, who were employed after their graduation from the apprenticeship;

Employment is not longer than 14 calendar days and if

The person to be employed is related to an authorized signatory at the company either through marriage or civil union, or who is related in direct lineage, or for collateral relatives until first degree or for in-laws.

New platform for unemployment insurance and employment centre (öAV)

The new online platform for the unemployment insurance and the employment centre (öAV) will go online on January 23rd 2018. As a new information and service platform for all involved parties (job seekers, employers, recruiters, institutions & media) it will be a central digital entry point for all employment-related matters. The previous websites will be integrated into this new platform and will be harmonized. In addition, this platform will be used for the implementation of the job vacancies reporting obligation, and provides a lean and easy job reporting process for the employment centre and for the employer. At the beginning of January 2018, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will give a preview about the new platform design and the new service offerings on the platform. Together with the employers’ associations and the Swiss association for governmental labour market agencies (VSAA), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will also launch the national public information campaign „Job Reporting for Employers (Stellenmeldung für Arbeitgeber)“ in April about the job vacancies reporting obligation for employers. The campaign aims to inform employers before the actual implementation of the job reporting obligation in a neutral, practical and concise way about all relevant topics and particularly about the process requirements for these new regulations.